A candidate for one of our open jobs came an hour early for her interview. It was supposed to be at 11 AM, and she came at 10 AM. Our admin told her that she was early and would let us know she was here. We opened at 10 AM, so we have things we need to do to open the store, check in with colleagues, etc.

She got really upset and agitated that we made her wait and kept asking the admin if a manager was on their way. The admin said, “The interview is going to be at 11 AM and not sooner.”

When the time finally came for the interview, she was heated and went off on the admin and the manager who was going to conduct the interview. She complained that it was outrageous that we could not re-adjust to accommodate her being early for her interview and that it showed us lacking in our abilities to respect people’s time and that we mistreated her on purpose.

The manager told her that she needed to fix her attitude and take it down several notches and then promptly told her that the interview would not be happening and that she could leave now. They also said that coming an hour early doesn’t win you any bonus points.

The candidate was outraged because she thinks we had no intention of actually interviewing her and made her wait on purpose as a power move. The manager said that they weren’t engaging with her and that she needed to get out.

She stormed out and left crying. She informed several of our sales colleagues on the way out about what our manager had just done to her. The colleagues were laughing at her.

I’m in high school, and one of my hobbies is building custom keyboards and PCs. After I post a picture of my setup online, I receive this message:

Stranger: “Hey, I saw your setup on your story. Where did you get your keyboard? I really like it.”

Me: “Thanks! It’s a GMMK Pro with Sunset Tai-Hao keycaps and Panda Invyr switches. I also custom-printed some WASD keys with my own design.”

Stranger: “Oh, wow. That’s pretty expensive.”

Me: “Yeah. In my spare time, I like to build things like keyboards and PCs.”

Stranger: “Oh, in that case, could you send me one? I want Cherry switches and HyperX keycaps.”

Me: “Those are quite expensive. I suppose I could send you some spare parts from other builds, but doing a full custom build would cost too much. I also charge for commissions.”

Stranger: “You already have a lot of money. Please help someone out!”

Me: “I can’t do that, sorry.”

Stranger: “Why not? You have the money and everything, and it’s just one keyboard.”

Me: “I work for my money, too, and I’m still in high school. We’re all struggling, and I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Stranger: “F*** you! All I’m asking for is a keyboard, and you have loads of them! You still want to be so greedy!”

I respond with a thumbs-up emoji.

Stranger: “F*** you!”

A guest just frantically called me, asking for directions. This is our brief conversation:

Caller: “I’m at the intersection of Strawberry and Bagel Street.” *Made up street names for the sake of avoiding location specifics.* “How do I get to your hotel from here?”

Me: “I’m actually unfamiliar with those streets, but give me a second, and I can try to pinpoint where you are on a map.”

Caller: *Sighs.* “Well, God d***, I could have done that!”

Me: *Ignoring his condescending comment* “I’m not seeing that intersection anywhere. Do you see any landmarks I can put into Google?

Caller: *Sighs again, much louder this time.* “I’m not paying you $100 a night to Google things for me. You should know more about your local area. You’ve been a big help, thanks.” *Said in a very frustrated, condescending tone, then he just hung up.*

I’m shocked. I was doing what I could, but because I don’t have infinite knowledge about the ten-mile radius around our hotel, I’m bad at my job. I finally found the intersection he was at, and it was seven miles from the hotel, across state lines…

I hate this kind of person. The type that expects bottom-feeder hourly employees who barely make enough money to survive to be a living, breathing almanac of the entire state.

Talking with a caller at a call center. He has not paid for his service for three months, and now his account has been suspended. However, he is claiming:

Caller: “You never told me!”

Me: “Sorry, sir, but we did. We sent out several emails to imanidiot@idiot.com about this, and we called 123-456-7890 on [date #1], [date #2], [date #3], [date #4], and [date #5]. We sent a letter to [address] on [date #6] and [date #7].”

Caller: “I haven’t used that email in years! How would I see those emails? And that is our landline. No one ever calls it. We barely use it. Why would you call it? We never check those messages. And I certainly never got your letter! The postal service sucks here! Why didn’t you send it to my [not on file because he never gave it to us PO Box]!? I want a refund on our late charges because you never contacted us about it, and I want my service back on!”

Me: “Sorry, sir, those are the contact methods you gave us. What is your new email and phone number so I can update the system? I can add the PO box now as well.”

Caller: “I don’t need you spam calling and emailing me or selling my info! Just give me that refund and turn on my service!”

Me: “We don’t sell your info, sir, and we only call or email in this sort of situation. I just need to update the info so if there is a problem with your auto payment, like now, we can contact you and avoid the late fees.”

Caller: “I don’t need you to contact me! I’ll know if there is a problem. Now turn my service on and remove the charges!”

Me: *Because I am allowed to state the obvious.* “Sir, your service was cancelled because the card has failed to process for three months, and we have had no communication from you about it. Our system automatically shuts you off at that point, and there is a $50 reconnect fee, plus late fees.”

Caller: “How am I supposed to know that if you don’t tell me?! I am not paying that! Turn my service back on or get me your supervisor!”

I thunk my head on desk. I hate this part.

Me: “Sir, I am the lead service rep. I am as high as you can go. You have admitted the contact info we have on file is your contact info and that you don’t check it. I cannot waive any fees in this case. The price to reconnect is [total].”

Cue incoherent rambling and demands. I mute him and let him run down until he says:

Caller: “You will waive those fees and turn me back on, or I am cancelling this account and letting the owner know. He is a friend of mine, and I will get you fired for failing to work with me.”

Me: “So you want to cancel your account? We will still need payment for the service you used from [date of last payment] to [today’s date], which is [total].”

Caller: “I’m calling your boss and telling him you are willing to lose a long-time customer! Then I will deal with your replacement.”

Me: “Okay, I’ll let him know to expect your call. Until he tells me otherwise, your account will remain suspended.”

Caller: “Are you serious?! I said I will call your boss!”

Me: “Yes, sir, and I’ll let him know that.”

The boss will not fire me for following policy, and very rarely will he bend it himself.

Cue more grumbling on his part but he eventually accepts I will not refund the charge, am not giving into threats and if he wants service back he has to pay me and give me updated contact info

Dude, it is not our fault you don’t check your messages on your old contact methods. It’s not our fault you failed to update your contact methods. You do not get a refund on late charges and reconnect fees because you freely admit you failed to check your messages and refuse to give us better contact methods!

The head secretary at the law firm I used to work at was an absolute treasure, one of the funniest people I’ve known and took no crap from anyone, client or otherwise.

One day, a partner (who was a huge, egotistical a**hole) was yelling at her over something completely outside her control.

Head Secretary: *Holds up her hand.*

Partner: “Don’t show me the ha—”

She gets up and walks away without saying anything.

Partner: “Don’t you walk away from me!”

She walks into the supply room. The partner is still losing his s***, shouting:

Partner: “What are you doing in there?!”

Head Secretary: “Looking for who you’re talking to like that, because it sure as s*** ain’t me.”